Lookup request - Birth - Frances Bennett Odlam b. approx 1839

[cbissell]

Hi Everyone!
I have a little bit of a brickwall here trying to locate my 3x Great Grandmother's family. Her maiden name was Frances Bennett Odlam (other variants found on her docs include: Oldham, Hodlam, Odlum).

I've attached her marriage certificate (1860) from after her emigration to Australia in 1857 which carries the only references I have found to her birth location and parents:

Co Tipperary
Richard Odlam
Ann Bennett

What I believe might be a listing for her on a passenger list for the ship "Black Eagle" in 1857 states that her religion is Church of England.

I have subscriptions to FindMyPast, MyHeritage and Ancestry and have also searched with familysearch.org and haven't found original records on any of them. A website "rootsireland" claims to have some listings for some of the names however it doesn't provide any information to support their claim and so I haven't been keen to drop any money there.

Any help at all would be immensely appreciated!!

Cheers,
Corey

[Maggsie]

Hi,
Was Richard Odlam a Blacksmith?
Can you upload a copy of the ship record, if from a paid site please send it Private Message, thanks
Maggsie

[cbissell]

Hi Maggsie,
The only reference to her mother or father is on her marriage certificate which simply states he's a labourer. Unfortunately aside from that and Frances' parent's names I haven't found any records that add more information.

Here is the passenger list:
https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/E2945C84-F1B1-11E9-AE98-E79844B4D5A8?image=355#

I've also published what I have confirmed so far on WikiTree:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Odlam-1
This has her children etc (all from Victoria, Australia and no further mention of Ireland however).

Cheers,
Corey

edit:
I should also add, the entry in the passenger list is for Assisted Immigrants which might indicate a poorer family.

[Maiden Stone]

Here is the passenger list:
https://prov.vic.gov.au/archive/E2945C84-F1B1-11E9-AE98-E79844B4D5A8?image=355#

edit:
I should also add, the entry in the passenger list is for Assisted Immigrants which might indicate a poorer family.

It says she was from Waterford. Calling domestic servant. Could read & write.

[cbissell]

Yup, despite it being the only record located though I'm not 100% sure the record is the correct one. I've tried searching Waterford in general, also Ireland and just in case, northern Ireland and the UK.

Also worth noting that the signature on the marriage certificate is a very unsteady X mark, unsure of that's Richard Greenaway's or Frances' though.

[cbissell]

Here's a copy of the query I raised with the guys at WikiTree in case there's any further information there I've neglected that might assist:

Hi guys, does anyone know how we can find out more about where one of our family brick walls came from?

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Odlam-1 was apparently born in Tipperary Ireland but we haven't managed to find anything concrete prior to her marriage in Victoria, Australia.

edit: updated for legibility and cleaner train of thought

Marriage, births of children and death information all known and can be viewed on her profile (linked).

Born approx 1839 Co Tipperary, Ireland (see marriage extract)
Married 1860 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died 1921 Gippsland, Victoria, Australia

Parents listed on Marriage Cert as:
Richard Odlam - Labourer
Ann Bennett

Religion on Passenger List is Church of England, however also indicated can read and write however signature on marriage is an X.

Variations of surname present on marriage, passenger list and children's birth certificates: odlam oldham odlum hodlam.

Emigration from Ireland is strongly suspected to have been aboard the Black Eagle arriving in port in Geelong, Victoria, Australia 1857. Timelines appear correct and no similar records have been found.

Tried various subscription sites, Irelands National Archive site. A handful of Odlum's in the County Tipperary area in the approx timeframe as per wills, courts, directories etc, nothing found in Tithe Applotment Books 1823-37 via nationalarchives.ie.

Also tried expanding searches to include Northern Ireland and UK.

Possible records on rootsireland.ie but behind another paywall unable to afford at the moment, also cannot confirm records without paying, have reached out to contacts to see if anyone has and can perform a lookup.
WikiTree profile: Frances Greenaway

[Maiden Stone]

Have you tried under all surname variants on Griffith Valuation? Remember to check listings for North and South Ridings of Tipperary as well as Tipperary. As the girl on the ship was from Waterford, look at Waterford too. If she was the right one the family may have lived near the county boundary.
Another possibility is that Frances had left home and had been working in Waterford prior to emigration.
Your Frances' father being a labourer, he may have moved around for work, around Ireland or across to Britain. Convenient transport links between SE Ireland and Wales.
Tithe Applotment Books record only people who held titheable land. A labourer was unlikely to be included.  None of my ancestors, small farmers, were in them; Tithe Applotment records for their townlands include very few entries compared to the number of people holding land there.

The Frances on the ship was stated to be C. of E. (Church of Ireland as she was Irish). Have you looked at "List of Church of Ireland Parish Registers" https://www.ireland.anglican.org to see what survives for parishes in Tipperary and Waterford? Genealogy resources list can be found by selecting "About" tab. The Parish Registers list is in alphabetical order by parish name. Updated versions of the list are published so check publication date to ensure you're looking at latest. Some parishes may cross county boundaries. A diocese may include several counties. A county may be in more than 1 diocese.

[annieoburns]

The Irish Civil register for births, marriages and deaths is freely available online.  This started in 1864 and is mostly digitalised for births over 100yrs, marriages over 75 yrs and deaths over 50 yrs.  You might find a death for one of the parents in Co Tipperary that might give other family details eg a family member who registered the death.
see https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/

[Kiltaglassan]

The Irish Civil register for births, marriages and deaths is freely available online.  This started in 1864 and is mostly digitalised for births over 100yrs, marriages over 75 yrs and deaths over 50 yrs. 

Note that the civil registration of non-Catholic Marriages started in 1845 (Protestant & Registry office marriages), and in 1864 for all marriages.

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/news/154-update-to-the-civil-records-3